Celebrated journalist and former concert pianist LEILA COBO is the executive director of Latin content and programming for Billboard, and is broadly considered the ultimate Latin music insider. Leila is a frequent contributor to NPR and has written liner notes for acts such as Ricky Martin, Shakira, and Chayanne. She is also the host of the television show Estudio Billboard, which features in-depth interviews with top Latin acts.
A native of Cali, Colombia, Leila holds dual degrees in journalism, from Bogota’s Universidad Javeriana, and in piano performance from the Manhattan School of Music. After graduating, she won a Fulbright Scholarship and obtained her masters degree from USC’s Annenberg School of Communications. Leila got her start in journalism as a writer for the Los Angeles Times and later became the pop music critic for the Miami Herald.
Recently named one of Colombia’s most influential women by prestigious magazine Fuchsia, Leila is a recipient of the Premio Orquidea Award for international journalism. She lives in Key Biscayne, Florida, with her husband and with her children.